The federal government is establishing a new system for updating medical records of servicemen and women both during and after their military careers, President Obama announced Thursday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The federal government is establishing a new system for updating medical records of servicemen and women both during and after their military careers, President Obama announced Thursday.

The Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record will, among other things, help ensure a streamlined transition of health care records between the Pentagon and the Veterans Administration.

It will provide "a framework to ensure that all health care providers have all the information they need to deliver high-quality health care while reducing medical errors," the White House noted in a background statement.

"When a member of the armed forces separates from the military, he or she will no longer have to walk paperwork from a (Defense Department) duty station to a local VA health center. Their electronic records will transition along with them and remain with them forever," Obama said in remarks delivered near the White House.

Listen: What's the price of progress on veterans' health care? CNN Radio explores